Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel was considered to be "One of Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World."

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel opened as a two-lane highway in 1964. Thirty-five years later in 1999, the southbound side opened, making it a four-lane highway. The 20-mile road connects Southeastern Virginia to the Delmarva Peninsula and cuts 95 miles from the trip between Virginia Beach, Virginia and points north of WIlmington, Delaware. It is made of two high bridges, two, one-mile tunnels, four man-made islands, and 12 miles of trestle. Each island is 10 acres in size and has almost 1.2 million tons of rock armor. The 12 miles of trestle are supported by more than 5000 concrete piles. Although it is no longer on the American Society of Civil Engineers list of Engineering Wonders, it was chosen as One of Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World when it was built in 1964 due to the number and different types of major structures included in one crossing and the adverse conditions in which it was built.